Mortara dips toe in water at Jerez.

F3 Euroseries frontrunner Edoardo Mortara made his GP2 Series debut in testing at Jerez.

Edoardo Mortara got his first taste of GP2 power during last week's group test at Jerez, but refused to be drawn on whether he was planning to step up to the F1 feeder series next season.

The recently-crowned F3 Euroseries runner-up joined Trident Racing on Wednesday before switching over to Trust Team Arden on Thursday as the 13 regular season teams took another opportunity to sample the talent that may be on offer for 2009.

Volkswagen-backed Signature driver Mortara, meanwhile, used the test as an opportunity to get used to the greater horsepower of the next step up on the ladder, and to begin assessing the different options for his future. The GP2 test, he insisted, was designed as a 'toe in the water' exercise, with the emphasis on learning rather than setting outright lap times.

Everything was brand new for the 21-year old Italian, who had not seen the Dallara chassis, its 580-horsepower Renault engine, the Jerez circuit, either of his two chosen teams or the Bridgestone control tyres before arriving at Jerez. Despite that, he made gradual progress throughout the opening day to end up 19th overall, before switching to Arden and, using the experience of the previous day, being able to explore the limits of the car a bit more.

Despite still maintaining a comfortable safety margin, Mortara was seventh by the end of a day curtailed by rain, and happy that he had completed a lot of useful mileage.

"First of all, I'd like to thank Volkswagen for allowing me to take part in this test," he said, "As always, they have been totally supportive of my career, as well as that of other young drivers.

"The idea behind this test was just to try out a different car and different teams in order to increase my all-round experience. Although I was just being sensible and not pushing too hard, I really enjoyed it, and I think these two days working with lots of different people have definitely contributed to my overall development as a driver."

With his regular season over, Mortara is currently concentrating on his preparations for the Macau Grand Prix, on 15-16 November.